Fly Away

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses sexual assault, self-harm, substance use disorder, and suicide.

It’s 2010. Tully Hart has been crying in a bathroom stall. She walks to a martini bar where she introduces herself to a man. He tries to kiss her but backs away when she begins to cry. At 2 o’ clock in the morning she walks home. She is a mess from crying and from the rain. At home, she notices a photo of herself on the cover of a Star magazine that sits in a pile of mail. The article claims that Tully “has been abusing drugs and alcohol” (7) according to her goddaughter, Marah.

Two hours later, Tully is in a half-conscious state, unsure of where she is or what is happening to her. At the same time, Johnny Ryan awakens with a feeling that something is wrong. He receives a phone call notifying him that Tully Hart has been taken to the hospital—she had listed Kate Ryan, Johnny’s deceased wife, as her emergency contact. Johnny plans for his eleven-year-old twin sons to be cared for and drives to the ferry.

While he sits in his car on the ferry ride, Johnny thinks about Tully and Kate’s lifelong friendship.